“H-hey wake up!”

The robbed woman, one of the three cultists that appeared from their hiding spot to intercept Mort, was shaking her unconscious friend.

“He’s a liability now. Leave him and focus on the task!”

Their leader, the old man, snorted and conjured his sinister magic.

A distance away, Lexander Biax stabilized himself and tightened his grasp on the sword.

Last but not least was Mort, who was blown away by the shock wave. He managed to protect Evelyn and land on his feet, but he felt dizzy and disoriented.

“You’re a nuisance. I advise you to leave.”

With a dangerously cold voice, Lexander stared at the cultists and uttered those words. However, the elderly cultist ignored him and shot a swirling vine at Mort.

At that second, the vines were neatly cut by a silver-colored aura, which struck the cultist, literally cutting his body in two.

The woman, who was about to attack too, was left speechless and shaking as blood splattered on her exposed face.

She lowered her shaking hands, glanced at her unconscious friend, then hastily left. She was far weaker than her superior, and seeing him get killed in an instant had instilled an unimaginable dread.

She valued her life more than anything, so she abandoned her duties and her friend and fled as far as she could.

“Now. Isn’t it time you drop the act?”

Mort didn’t respond to Lexander, his hollow zombie eyes were fixated on the blade lying next to his feet.

One of Evelyn’s weapons fell to the ground after the shock wave, and that was exactly what caught Mort’s interest.

He felt a tingling and inexplicably familiar sensation, something irresistible drawing him to that weapon.

With the maid on his back, he slowly bent down and picked up the short and double-edged blade.

****

Two days after the incident at Green’s End.

Within the burned cave in Greenbell Forest.

Amare Na Xivia stood next to her second eldest sister, Elise Na Xivia.

Unlike her, Elise was a playful girl aged 31. She would dress in revealing clothes and had many connections across the three nations.

“I understand that Mother brought you along… but why me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because you were lazing around at home?”

“Everyone needs a rest once in a while.” Retorted Elise while pouting her lips and stomping the ground.

The two vampires were in the first ‘room’ of the cave, surrounded by nothing but ash, charred ground, and blackened walls.

A distance away from them was the Masked Queen, currently using Memoria to learn the truth and find what Rodrick had hid what she had been looking for.

Marjory wasted no effort to come here using a Teleportation Scroll. She wanted to personally ascertain the situation. Moreover, due to how dangerous Rodrick’s secret could be, she thought it safer if she were to come with Amare and fend off any threat.

“So, how was it?”

Elise, who was taller than her youngest sister, leaned her head to the side and winked while asking.

“What was what?”

“You know! The meeting with the parasite? I’m actually jealous. I’ve never met a parasite.”

“It was… annoying? He didn’t strike me as a normal parasite, though.”

“Really? When I think of a parasite, I think of a repulsive species that could mutate and gobble up everything.”

“You’re thinking of a Chimera.”

“Aha… maybe? Hehehe. Anyway, didn’t you notice anything strange?”

“Everything was strange, Elise.” Amare crossed her arms and backed away from her overly-inquisitive sister. She didn’t want to recount how she was tied to a tree and humiliated time and time again.

“I mean, perhaps he was lying? Maybe he found whatever Rodrick had. This might be a goose chase.”

“We’ll know soon.”

Elise looked at her motionless Mother, pondering for a bit before thoughtfully remarking,

“Think again, Amare. Was there really nothing peculiar? Didn’t he use a strange and strong artifact? Anything at all.”

“What do you want me to tell you, Elise? I noticed nothing. He must’ve gotten his abilities from his victims. Besides that, he didn’t use any artifact and traveled with his maid and the weird zombie.”

“Weird zombie?”

“It’s some sort of mutated undead. It was relatively strong.”

“...”

As if she realized something, Elise opened her mouth wide open and fixated stared at her confused sister.

“That! It’s that!”

“What?! Can you speak clearly?”

“The damn undead!”

Amare sighed and shook her head, “Come on, don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m being ridiculous? Okay!” Elise put a hand on her hip and questioned, “What do you know about the undead? Where did the parasite get it from?”

“...”

“You said when they separated, he sent the zombie and the maid away. He must’ve known what we were looking for. He sent you here knowing that you will find nothing. And even if you go after him now, he’ll be alone!”

“N-no. You’re over-thinking things.”

“Wanna bet? Mother will know for sure!”

The two girls looked at the tall masked vampire in the midst of glimpsing at the past.

…

Now that she was at the scene, Marjory was able to vividly see what happened in this cave.

Although she wasn’t able to see everything, her Memoria was more developed than Amare’s, thus allowing her to go further into the past.

She saw the hunchback Latif dissect the dead Rodrick and conduct dozens of tests, which were mainly about Vampirism.

However, after a while, the old man stopped everything and holed himself in his shabby cave room.

When she followed him, Marjory saw the small mountain of dirty clothes at the corner, the old and dusty books scattered on the ground, and the dazed undead dutifully guarding the entrance.

At first, she spared it only a glance, but she realized something and approached it.

Much to her surprise, Mort stopped wobbling his head and beamed at her. He amicably waved his hand in greeting.

“Stop messing around and be on the lookout!”

The zombie, skulking, nodded his head and faced the forest.

‘This is it! It was planted here! But how?’

Marjory turned her attention to the busy Latif.

“You’re not meant to be here.” Calmly stated the old man while rummaging through his documents.

Startled by this, Marjory glared at him and coldly asked,

“Who… what are you?”

“You need not concern yourself with me, Vampire. I’m about to die soon.”

Just as he spoke those words, Marjory felt an oppressive and suffocating aura envelop the whole cave.

While using Memoria, Marjory wouldn’t get hurt yet she felt an unimaginable dread, one that left her completely stiff.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the space tear apart and a figure emerge.

It was a person of a relatively short height, clad in a set of jet-black armor.

The boots were letting out a nauseating stench of fresh blood, ghastly whispers and a wisp of dark green mist were emitting from the spiked gloves. The chest piece was dented and missing a couple of tiny pieces, but it still let out sinister darkness that seemed to suck all light around it.

Last but not least was the helmet, which had a distinguishable shape; Two inclined spikes were erected from the top, and the front was covering everything but the eyes.

From within that tiny hole in the seemingly blurry and time-swept helmet, Marjory saw a pair of eyes that seemed to carry the abyss with them.

She had lived for thousands of years and faced supreme Gods, yet when she saw those pair of eyes, her mind became muddled and her body shook intensely.

As a quasi-immortal and someone with vast knowledge, the Masked Queen instantly knew who the black-armored knight was.

An unquestionably almighty being, someone who towered over anyone and anything else. He had surpassed even the Creations Gods and stood at the top of existence itself.

One who governed over all the Darkness in the universe, the strongest living being; The Nameless Knight.

Without a second thought and sliver of hesitation, Marjory pulled herself out of Memoria.

The moment she got back to ‘reality’, she knelt down and coughed a mouthful of blood. She was covered in a cold sweat and her body was uncontrollably shaking.

She had stood in his presence for a couple of breaths yet she was affected this much, which only increased her fear.

“Mother!”

Amare and Elise ran to her and supported her, both shocked to see her like this.

Fortunately, Marjory swiftly recovered and calmed down her rapidly-beating heart.

“M-Mother… I think it was the Undead. I… I’m sorry.”

Marjory nodded her head before declaring, “We will drop the pursuit. I want to hear nothing about Rodrick or the undead ever again. Don’t associate yourself with it or do anything. Understood?”

“Yes, mother.”

The two replied in unison as they exchanged confused glances, still in disbelief to see their mother react like this.

A couple of months ago, one hour before Latif was killed by Arthur.

Mort noticed the unexpected guest but, very much like the Masked Queen, was stricken with fear and couldn’t do anything but stand there, trembling like a frightened chicken.

The only one affected by this was old man Latif. He stopped rummaging through the papers and faced the Nameless Knight.

“Did you come to put a leash on my neck?”

The Nameless Knight slowly marched toward the old man, stopping a meter away. Formless and bone-chilling darkness was emanating from his body.

“How Ironic of you to bring people to life. I’m sure Wolfram warned you not to meddle with this place.”

“I haven’t done anything. You’ve grown strong and now you think you can defy the very laws of existence? Tell me, Dark Knight, what do you hope to achieve?”

With a movement as swift as lightning, the Nameless Knight’s hand struck Latif’s neck and lifted his body.

An energy of decay and death burst forth from Latif, but it was consumed by the Darkness in an instant.

“You seem to forget that I removed your predecessor.”

Latif’s face turned purple as his flailing stopped and his resistance ceased.

He was released and fell to the ground, his body pressured by the unstoppable darkness.

“You and I have the same objective. However, you’re going at it the wrong way. You are not eternal. In the end, Death will claim you. It claims everyone.”

“Save your words and scram.”

“Not before I accomplish what I’ve come here for. Look at it, isn’t it familiar?”

Upon hearing this, the Nameless Knight glanced at the petrified undead before remarking,

“Sentiment will not work on me. Hand the body to the parasite and scram away from Astria. This will be my one and only warning.”

After saying that, he ripped the space with his gloves and stepped into the rift.

Latif got to his feet and gritted his teeth, enraged about getting overpowered and ordered around by a human.